Two women living at opposite ends of the country. …
Both have one thing in common this week…
They want new gun legislation. Their plea is to make it illegal to buy extended magazines for handguns.
First to Arizona and Kelly O’Brien, the fiancee of Gabe Zimmerman, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ staff member, who was killed in the Tucson tragedy. Who can forget those 19 victims of gunfire, fired upon within 15 seconds a month ago.
This week Kelly stepped forward out of the shadow of the recent horror to make a plea. In an exclusive interview with George Stephanopolous of Good Morning America here on this link, she said she is supporting a new state bill, HB 2711, that would in essence reduce the amount of bullets in a magazine to ten.
She reminded George that Jared Loughner was stopped when he ran out of bullets. “I believe, even if not Gabe, other people could have been saved that day,” she said.
And now to the East Coast and New York. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy has separately been working on a bill, H. R. 308, targeting the same high capacity magazine clips. This bill would include banning the manufacture and importation of new magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
You’ll see Rep. McCarthy speaking out about gun control at the Brady Center in the above video in 2009. She’s been pursuing this type of legislation for 14 years. She talks movingly on her website about her experience with senseless violence.
“I know what it’s like to have tragedy brought to your life in a split second by a madman with high-capacity ammunition magazines,” she said. Her husband was killed and son seriously wounded by a gunman on the Long Island Railroad in 1993.
Two women. Two different tragedies involving guns. Will they be heard?
One blogger’s reaction to Kelly: “I hold out little hope of success for passage in this radical Republican dominated Arizona Legislature.”
One website’s reaction to Rep. McCarthy: H. R. 308 would severely violate the fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense.
These women have tough mountains to climb. Let’s follow their fight.
For more information:
Office of Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
Office of Rep. Steve Farley who proposed HB 2711
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